Well, that was a one day more than 2 weeks ago when I wrote that, and I am happy to say that my readings are holding.  My diet is still under control, and I am feeling very good.  Amazing what a little more exercise and living a reasonable lifestyle will do for you!

When my diabetes was out of control, I had a big problem with infections.  Almost any wound that I got, be it a paper cut, or even a scratch would most likely become infected.  For years, there was really no time that I didn’t have some sort of infection somewhere on my body.  It’s an uncomfortable way to live.  I am happy to say that for several weeks I have experienced no infections of any kind, and that is a good feeling.  Having a badly infected sore on your body is uncomfortable, to say the least.  Not having to worry about that is a big bonus for me.

I have gotten where I eat fish or some kind of seafood at least 4 or 5 times per week, and I am enjoying it.  Fish is good for your body, and you can have a nice meal without having your blood sugar go wild.  Of course, you can’t eat something like sweet and sour fish or anything loaded with sugar like that, but a nice piece of grilled fish, or even a fried piece of fish if you use the right kind of oil and keep it to a minimal amount is a nice meal, and healthy too.

I’ve also lost a few more pounds over the past few weeks as well.  I am not altering my diet to lose weight, but that is a nice side benefit.  I am modifying my diet to keep my blood glucose in reasonable control.  And, it’s working!

About 5 or 6 weeks ago, I happened to be watching CNN to catch up on the news.  It happened that they had more of a “feature” show on, rather than the news, Anderson Cooper 360.  I watched for a bit, and found that they had Jamie Oliver on.  If you don’t know who Jamie Oliver is, he is a British Chef.  He is a TV Chef.  He has had a number of cooking shows on British TV over the years.  He’s OK, I’m not a huge fan, but I have watched some of his shows from time to time, and my wife Feyma has picked up a few good recipes from Jamie’s show over the years too.

What was Jamie doing on CNN?  Well, he was talking about his new TV show in the USA, called Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  Jamie went to a town named Huntington, West Virginia, which according to a US Government study is the most unhealthy city in the USA.  This is based on things like obesity, diet, health problems and such, which are found in the city, and compared to other parts of the USA.

When I saw Jamie talking about this, I found it interesting, I wanted to learn more.  Let me say, I am obese.  I have been obese for nearly my entire life, since my early childhood.  I have experienced health problems due to obesity.  Over the past 10 years, I have lost a lot of weight, but I am still obese, just a lot less obese than I was a decade ago.  I hope that in a few more years I will no longer be obese.  But, even if I still am, I am feeling better and living a more healthy lifestyle than I was a decade ago.

So, what Jamie wanted to do was to start a Food Revolution.  I change in the way that the people in Huntington ate, and how they lived.  I was excited about it myself, because I wanted to further change my diet, increase my exercise, and become healthier myself.  So, I decided to watch Jamie’s Food Revolution myself and see what it was all about.  As of the time that I write this article, four episodes have been aired, and I have watched them all.  I have picked some very good tips,

and I have watched as Jamie has tried to change things like the school lunch program and other things in West Virginia.  I feel that what Jamie has said and done has had an impact on me, and done some good things for me.  It has reinforced my already existing desire to improve my life and my health.

It so happens that just about the same time that Jamie’s show started, my wife started working on a big job in her consulting business.  Because of this, she has been away from the house quite a bit lately.  So, I decided to take on more of a role in the grocery shopping and cooking part of the household duties, in order to assist my wife.

Now is the time when the “perimeter thing” will come into play and you will know what I am talking about.  You know, I have heard over the years that the healthiest part of the grocery store is the part around the perimeter of the store.  The Produce department.  The meats department.  The dairy area.  The middle of the store is the area where there is not much nutrition, and where most people spend the bulk of their grocery budget!  That’s right.  The cookies.  The twinkies.  The ho-ho’s.  Basically, the junk food.  Of course, there are exceptions like the spices, the cooking ingredients and such, but for the most part, the bulk of the nutrition in the grocery store is along the perimeter.

So, in the past weeks while I’ve been doing a lot of the grocery shopping, I have found myself spending a lot of my time along the perimeter.  Yesterday, I want to the store, and I half filled my cart with produce alone, and I bought some meat.  I didn’t buy anything else.  My bill was only half what I expected it to be, and I came home and cooked some very nutritious and very tasty food!

Amazing!  It tasted good and it saved me money.  How could I complain about that?  Thanks, Jamie, for re-energizing me.

Considering that just a few weeks ago my blood glucose was running over 400, I consider my current readings a great success.

How have I achieved this improved reading?  Basically through two methods.  I have really taken better control of my diet, and I have been exercising more.

For exercising, I have been doing two things.  Mostly, I have been riding my stationary bicycle, and doing it 4 or 5 times per day.  Not long periods each time, but enough to get my heart rate elevated and keep it there for a bit.  The other thing that I have been doing is walking, which has always been one of my favorite exercises.  I have only been walking about 2 or 3 times per week, though.  It is summer here in the Philippines now, and that has meant that it’s been hot.  Because of the heat here in Davao, I’ve kept my walking down to only a few times per week, about 30 to 40 minutes each time.

Diet, though, is something that I’ve kind of gone all out on.  I am eating mostly fish and chicken.  I haven’t really had any red meat for a couple of weeks now.  And, I have not eaten snacks between meals either.  Over the past few weeks, I have found myself hungry many times each day.

You know what, though?  I’ve learned something.  Being hungry is OK.  It doesn’t mean that I am going to die if I am hungry.  It means that I can look forward to my next meal.  Usually, if I get really hungry, though, after 30 minutes or so it passes, and I am not feeling hungry any longer.  So, hunger is not a bad thing.  It can be uncomfortable, but I am getting used to it, and most of the time I can make my way through being hungry, even extremely hungry, without much problem.

I am feeling good about my efforts toward better control of my diabetes, and thus better control of my diet.  It’s a good step toward better health.